


By Candlelight

by Ambrose



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Like PURE fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-29
Updated: 2016-10-29
Packaged: 2018-08-19 08:00:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8196913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ambrose/pseuds/Ambrose
Summary: Clarke wants to plan the best dinner date for her one-month anniversary with Lexa.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tveckling](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tveckling/gifts).



Clarke was sitting  half-sprawled on her couch, with an arm around Lexa, and they were watching a romcom. She could not have thought such a thing to be possible, but she'd eventually gathered the courage to ask Lexa out on a date a few weeks ago - well, okay, maybe it had something to do with Raven's and Octavia's badgering - and they were dating. She, Clarke Griffin, was dating Lexa! Not a month earlier, she'd have laughed in the face of anyone who'd told her this would happen. She did, actually - and Raven laughed right back, told her she was blind if she didn't see just how smitten Lexa was, It was annoying how often Raven tended to be right.

Lexa gave her a peck on the cheek before resting her head on Clarke's shoulder, and she almost melted at how cute her girlfriend was. She'd known her a while, since she'd striken an unlikely friendship with her best friend Anya, but she'd never thought of her as _cute_  before they started dating. Fierce, majestic, gentle sometimes, dazzling always, but she'd never gotten to see adorable Lexa before, and that was her favourite Lexa of all. 

Lexa was very private, though. Not that she hid things from Clarke, but they'd only been distant friends so far, and Clarke felt like she had so much to learn about her, and it would feel like invading to ask her a ton of questions, when Lexa was mostly the quiet type. She'd talk passionately sometimes, about the things she loved, like the self-defense class she taught at an LGBT youth shelter and the kids she mentored, or what new horrific law she'd learn about that she'd fight one day when she'd become the human rights lawyer she so wanted to be. But whenever she was concerned, she didn't talk a lot, like she felt she'd be taking of all the space if she did. So Clarke was trying to find workarounds to know what she liked, what gifts would be the best gifts, what foods to suggest and what small gestures she'd appreciate. Asking Anya could only get her so far, however, and she was coming short on an idea for their first month anniversary. Which, considering how _cute_  and _adorable_ Lexa was being, she wouldn't find too sappy to celebrate.

That's when Valentine's Day happened in the movie they were watching, and the guy started to light some candles for a romantic dinner. Lexa's eyes lit up too, and Clarke, who would admit without an ounce of hesitation that she was watching her more than the movie, picked up on it. 

"Oh, so you like romantic dinners, eh?" she teased her, gently poking her side with the hand that wasn't laying on Lexa's shoulder. 

"Pizza was nice too," Lexa grinned back. "I just... really like candles." Lexa mentally noted that if Anya were there she would slap her shoulder and call it the understatement of the year but, well, Clarke hadn't been to her room yet, and sharing her flat with her best friend meant that she'd had to limit the amount of candles in the shared areas. _Let's not scare her away with your candles yet,_  she added to herself. 

This, of course, gave Clarke the best of ideas for their first month anniversary. What if it was cliché? All that mattered was that Lexa would love it. 

With the anniversary coming up a week away, Clarke went shopping for the best candles she could find, some lightly scented ones, and a lot of simpler ones just to give off light. She raided her mom's attic for some candelabras and a dark red tablecloth while dodging the questions from her curious father, who was helping her find the stash between old books from when her mom was in medical school and Clarke's first drawings.

He became especially suspicious when she asked for cooking tips, at which point he stopped her. 

"Kid, I love you, but that also means I want you to stay alive, so please don't try anything more complicated than pasta, or I'll have to warn the firemen to keep a close eye on your building..."

In the end, she bribed Lincoln to come to her apartment and cook for her. On D-day, then, all she had to do was run by the pastry shop to get the cute little cake she'd ordered in advance, and set the table. Well, that was not counting the time it took her to pick an outfit after she came out of the shower, trying to get some advice from Lincoln who was too busy with his cooking to be of any help. He _was_ helpful eventually though, since after she'd tortured herself, and him too, for a good half hour, he suggested she called Octavia. Who basically hang up after saying something like "come on, you're dating, she'll love you in whatever you wear. And let's be real, the way she looks at you, she'd love you dressed in a potato sack. No need to be nervous!" At least she was reassuring. Clarke could imagine Raven only advising her to "wear something you can take off easily", which was probably why Clarke was the one dating Lexa, while Raven was seeing Anya.

She eventually picked a short black and white dress, and went on to set the table, trying to find the best way to arrange the candles around the room, rushing out at the last minute because she'd forgotten to buy roses - thank goodness there was a florist right around the corner, profusely thanked Lincoln for his hard work, and with still half a hour to go before Lexa was due to arrive, she surveyed her living room, all ready for the most romantic dinner she'd ever set up. 

And then she realised she had nothing to light the candles with. 

~~~

Raven picked up the phone to hear a panicked Clarke yell at her about fire.

"Woah woah there slow down! What did you do? what happened? You didn't set your house on fire did you? I thought Lincoln was cooking for you? What do you mean you need fire, Clarke, I'm a little busy here, if you want me to make things explode don't do it on my day off."

Anya was looking curiously onto the situation. 

"Oh, a lighter? Alright, be right here, don't worry, Anya will kindly call Lexa to delay her." She ignored Anya's shaking her head. "You're lucky I'm nice, or I'd have let you drive yourself to a store."

~~~

Lexa crossed paths with Raven on her way up the stairs, having just hung up on Anya who was trying to keep talking to her like she didn't know she had a date. She felt that something was up, but Raven refused to answer any questions, telling her instead to "hurry up, Casanova, you're late! Enjoy yourself!" 

If the wink hadn't already made her blush, the slap on the ass might have, and Lexa once again did _not_  wonder why this woman was hanging out with her best friend. Raven really was one of a kind, but she and Anya seemed to be kindred spirits, in a way, and Lexa knew there was nothing mean about her. She guessed she had Clarke's best friend's approval, just as much as Raven had hers to date Anya. Even if they'd never said it. Even if she wouldn't have cared if she didn't have it, and would have gone for Clarke regardless. That woman was worth every struggle.

She was thinking about Clarke and how lucky she was to be with her; that Clarke had asked her out  when she didn't dare to, when she reached the door to her apartment. She took a deep breath and rung the bell, trying not to look as nervous as she really was _._ This wasn't much, just their first month anniversary, there was no point in making a fuss, she told herself.  _it's no big deal, why are you so stressed?_  It had been a month, and everything had gone perfectly fine - Lexa was much more at ease around Clarke than she'd ever hoped to be, considering all the butterflies she had to deal with when she first met her and for the months that followed. But being with Clarke was easy, comfortable. 

And yet her breath was still taken away every time she saw her, like just now, as she opened the door. She always looked so stunning, but of course she had dressed up for the occasion, and she was breathtaking. Her smile was breathtaking, too, and her kisses as well. Her eyes were shining, gleeful, and Lexa felt happy, just seeing her happy. She was happy just being with her. God did she have it hard. And it'd only been a month! 

Though to be quite honest Clarke had never seemed too bothered by Lexa's affection, on the contrary. Which was a first... She rarely ever dated, but her previous "girlfriends" had all somehow expected her to be aloof or something, which was probably Lexa's fault for being so guarded in public, but Clarke was different, she understood her. 

As she came into Clarke's apartment she noticed the lights were off. Clarke took her hand so she wouldn't stumble as she led her towards the living room, at the end of the small corridor. There was a warm glow coming from there.

"What's going on, Clarke?"

"Impatient, are we?" she grinned. "Close your eyes," she asked right before they arrived at the doorway.

"Really?" It was already dark enough...

"Pleaaaase!"

Lexa humoured her with a smile, and clarke led her by the hand into the room. There was a familiar smell.

"...Candles?!"

"You can open your eyes now!" There was a smile in Clarke's voice, a smile that greeted her when she opened her eyes. Then she looked around her, at the living room she'd gotten familiar with in the past few weeks spent mostly at Clarke's. There were candles everywhere, on the furnitures, the coffee table, the TV cabinet, the kitchen counter that Clarke usually used as a bar of sorts, the chest of drawers Clarke stored her drawing utensils in... the room was glowing in the warm light of the candles, and in the middle, Clarke's small table was covered in a dark red tablecloth, delicate white dishes and wine glasses, and more candles on a candelabra.

"Clarke, you... you didn't need to do all that!"

Clarke frowned. 

"You don't like it?"

"Of course I do! It's... it's wonderful! But..."

"Then I'm glad I did! Nothing's too good for you." She blushed as she realised what she'd said, but Lexa could only find it adorable. She wrapped her arms around her waist and kissed her thank you. 

"Shall we?" Clarke pointed to the table. She led Lexa to her chair and actually helped her sit, and this was without a doubt the most romantic evening Lexa had ever experienced. 

Clarke eclipsed herself and came back with scallops on gorgeously decorated dishes, before sitting in front of Lexa and smiling coyly at her. Lexa, however, couldn't help asking. 

"You didn't cook this did you?"

Clarke looked down, but she kept smiling. "No, I called in a favour with Lincoln. You know, from when I gave him O's number."

Lexa smiled back. "Good, I don't want to have to worry about you burning yourself again." 

"That was one time!" The smile didn't leave her face. It was a recurring joke amongst her friends that she was a terrible cook - and she so was - but Lexa had always been more worried than teasing, so Clarke had promised to be careful. "Besides, I wouldn't want to serve burnt food for our anniversary!"

As the dinner went on, they talked about their day, the little things that had happened, and in the few moments of companionable silence, Lexa reflected that this was not only the most romantic thing someone had ever done for her, but it was the first time she was really content in a relationship. And of course, it'd only been a month, and things wouldn't always be this easy - she knew, for one thing, that she had to work on trusting Clarke with herself, her thoughts and her past - but for the first time she felt confident enough, safe enough to do so. To make this something as serious as they both wanted it to be, because Clarke was worth it, and she made her life better. She didn't quite yet have the courage to say it in so many words. But as they'd finished dessert and Clarke helped her up for an improvised dance on the slow music that was now playing, she whispered her thanks in her ear - and when Clarke held her closer in response, she gathered the strength to whisper, "I love you".

She only realised afterwards how much if would have hurt had Clarke rejected her at her words, when she realised just how happy it made her feel that Clarke said it back. And maybe from the outside they looked stupid, dancing alone in Clarke's living room, on what was just their first month anniversary, but this was their moment and theirs only, and it felt incredibly good to just stand there, swaying to the music, holding the woman she loved. 

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by [this prompt on otpprompts](http://otpprompts.tumblr.com/post/150762069110/person-a-and-b-havent-been-together-long-and-are).  
> Thanks for reading, I really hope you liked it!


End file.
